ZZ Top Halts Tour Due To Dusty Hill Ailment
ZZ Top’s 2017 tour has come to a halt after legendary bassist Dusty Hill has taken ill. The band’s Tonnage Tour has concluded with plans to reschedule missed dates, they wrote on Twitter. “ZZ Top’s tour is temp. suspended & are arranged for rescheduling” they wrote, adding on their website that “ZZ’s cornerstone bass guitarist, Mr. Dusty Hill, is addressing...
Rougarou Pedals Introduces The Draugr Distortion Pedal
Louisiana’s Rougarou Pedals has launched the Draugr, a versatile drive pedal that they say has “massive amounts of headroom and gain on tap while maintaining clarity through the range of the drive control.” The Germanium diode-based distortion circuit is controlled with a simple three-knob layout. “The drive and tone controls interact with each other in a way that makes an...
Tedeschi Trucks Band: Tim Lefebvre’s Bass Solo on “Mountain Jam”
The Tedeschi Trucks Band has an annual residency at the Beacon Theatre, and they like to make it special every year. On the final night of the run this year they brought Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio out for the epic Allman Brothers song “Mountain Jam.” Fans were treated to a spectacular bass solo from Tim Lefebvre during the jam that...
De Gier Guitars Unveils The Lowlander Bass
De Gier Guitars is paying tribute to a classic bass design with their new model called the Lowlander. Luthier Sander De Gier studied several vintage T-Birds to create an updated version with tweaks to improve its shortcomings. “One of the most prominent features is, of course, the 9 ply neck-through. It is a rigid construction for a bass neck, it...
King Crimson Transcription Book Now Available
Through every lineup, the members of King Crimson created some of the most riveting music ever made. Now the first-ever transcription book of their music is available with THRAK – The Complete Scores. The book offers full-band transcriptions from the classic double-trio era that included six musicians: two guitarists, two bassists, and two drummers. The low end was held down...
Bass of the Week: Fodera Zebrawood AJ Contrabass Shape 12 Elite
This week we’re checking out a very unique Fodera. This Zebrawood AJ Contrabass Shape 12 Elite is a 12-string fretless built specially for bassist Steuart Liebig. Featuring the “AJ Contrabass” body shape, the instrument is built with a mahogany body with a Flame Maple tone block and zebrawood top. The neck is a five-piece laminate with maple and South American...
Korn’s Fieldy Announces Solo Album Release Date
Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu’s long-awaited solo album, Bassically, is finally coming to fans this year. The Korn bassist has set a release date of November 17th for his seventeen-track solo debut. While Fieldy is known for the hard rock and nu-metal stylings of his band, this album is something completely different. “This is a bass album that encompasses the last nine...
Tedeschi Trucks Band Announces 2017-2018 Tour Dates
The Tedeschi Trucks Band will be back at it this winter with a newly announced set of tour dates to take them into 2018. Anchored by bass heavyweight Tim Lefebvre, the group will kick things off at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon on November 3rd, covering the West Coast before heading east to visit Boston, Nashville, and more. “I...
ProRockGear Introduces the Armourguard Lightweight Bass Case
ProRockGear has released a new set of instrument cases called the Armourguard Wood Series. The line is described as a lightweight hybrid with the weight of a gig bag and the durability of a hardshell case. It includes a rectangular bass case built with a form-fit wood shell covered with 600D nylon. Other features include a soft interior foam with...
Eastwood To Reissue Airline Pocket Bass
Eastwood Custom Shop is reintroducing another vintage bass with a remake of the Airline Pocket Bass. The short-scale bass, which GE Smith described as one of the best recording basses around, was a widely requested reissue for the company. “This time around we will fix a few of the originals short-comings,” they explained. “We’ll give it a slightly longer scale...
Vvon Dogma I: Communion
Former Unexpect bassist ChaotH (aka Frederick Filiatrault) has a new band called Vvon Dogma I. He formed the group after his former group split up as a means to continue expressing his creativity. “Vvon Dogma I is an expression that I created that means to me the second incarnation of any entity, the evolution from one state of being to...
Fodera Unveils Masterbuilt Series Woodblock Emperor II 5 Elite Bass
Fodera has unveiled the latest in their Masterbuilt Series with the “Woodblock” Emperor II 5 Elite. Limited to four basses per year, the Masterbuilt series is described as the pinnacle of what their custom shop can produce. Woodblock was created as a collaborative design with Vinny Fodera and luthiers Vadim Medved and Patrick Blaney, who found inspiration in historic art....